Heney g



(No 'l lodeli) I H. STEE'NBURGH. Vehicle Spring.

' No. 236,917; Patented'lah. 25,1881.

UNITED STATES HENRY Gr. STEENBURGH,

PATENT OFFICE.

OF GOHQES, NEW YORK.

VEHICLE-SPRING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 236,917, dated January 25, 1881.

Application filed December 2, 1680. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY Gr. STEENBURGH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Gohoes, in the county of Albany and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Vehicle-Springs; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters or figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification, in which Figure 1. is a perspective of the runninggear of a wagon with my improvements applied thereto; Fig. 2, a plan of the axles and reach with my springs and circle-bars ap-- plied thereto, and Fig. 3 a rear elevation of the same.

My invention relates to carriages and Wagons generally, and particularly to the means for bracing the reach, and for suspending the springs and vehicle-body, as well as to the construction of the springs, as hereinafter particularly described, and then sought to be specifically defined by the. claim.

In the accompanying drawings, the letter A indicates the'axles, B the wheels, and O the reach, which is connected at one end to the rear axle, and at the opposite end to the head-block, A circle-bar, 1), rests upon the bed-piece on the rear axle and upon the reach, and is securely held to both the axle and reach by means of staples, clips, or other suitable means, as illustrated in the drawings, and a a portion of it projects to the rear of the axle.

A similar circle-bar is likewise connected to the reach toward its other end, and to the head- 'block. These circle-bars serve a twofold purpose-one purpose being to act as a brace, taking the place of double reaches and the usual iron braces, the other being to afford the supports from which the springs on which the vehicle-body rests are suspended. These bars, extending as they do from near the ends of the head-block in one case, and considerably out toward the ends of -the bed-piece in the other case, afford a very strong brace for the reach, and are excellently positioned for suspending the springs.

The springs each consist of metal plates E, resting upon and secured to a strap, F, of rubber or leather, which is extended beyond the ends of the plates and provided with looped ends. These springs, it will be observed, extend crosswise of the running-gear, and are suspended from the circle-bars by means of clips G, passed around the bars, and rings or loops H, hinged to the clips and passed through the looped ends of the straps F. The top of each spring supports a bar, I, which is held to the spring by bolts passed-through both the bar and spring, and metal plate J under the strap of the spring. The carriage-body rests upon the bars I. The forward spring is suspended from the circle-bar back of the axle, While the rear spring is suspended from the ends of the circle-bar which project back of the axle; and while that method ot'suspending the spring I consider to possess advantages over other methods of suspension, yet it is obvious that both the springs may be suspended from the bars, either to the front or rear of the axles, Without departing from the spirit of my invention.

By supporting the body on springs constructed and suspended as I have described, the body is lower than when otherwise suspended, and a better springis given to it without detracting from the spring itself; and the circle-bars, in addition to serving as a support for the suspension of the springs, afford superior braces for the reach.

Havingdescribed myinvention, what Iclaim 1s- The combination of reach 0, circle-bars D, and the straps F, suspended from said circlebars and supporting the springs E, as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

HENRY G. STEENBURGH.

Witnesses:

HENRY A. STRONG, EDGAR B. NIcHoLs. 

